17 Americans and 1 Indian citizen have been arrested on charges of preaching religion. They were arrested on the charge of preaching religion under the guise of labor donation while coming on tourist visa.
According to the police, those who came to Shramdan to build a building for Prerna Welfare Society at Dharan sub-metropolitan city-5, Deurali Saugat Chowk of Sunsari were arrested after preaching religion. After that, they were interrogated by the administration and released with a warning, while the documents seized from them were handed over to the Immigration Department by the Sunsari District Administration Office for investigation.
US citizens Ryan Matthew Carter, Silas Daniel Fox, Russell Thomas Howells, Rose Brian Howells, Mark Alan Summers, Matthew Brian Kennedy, Patrick Irvin Summers, Duane Michael Godling, Benjamin Ward Kaufman, Brian Ward Kaufman, Dylan Jackson Bonzo, Kathleen Sue Moore, Dawson Andrew Carter, James Nathan Austin, William Raymond Viviano Jr., Kenneth David Gray and James Ray Murphy are under investigation by the Third Administration. Vasant Lama, a citizen of the Indian state of West Bengal, is also being investigated.
According to the police, after knowing that they had reached Dharan for the construction of a building on January 22, the investigation process was carried forward against them. An official said, 'When checking their passports, it was found that they came to Nepal on tourist visas but disobeyed their visas and donated labor to build a church building, so the passports issued in their names have been seized and further investigation is underway.'
The arrested American citizen entered Nepal only with a 15-day visa, said the official involved in the investigation. According to immigration sources, an investigation is being conducted on what action to take against them based on the amount of their crime. In the Immigration Act-2049, there is a provision that they can be expelled so that they cannot enter Nepal for a certain period.
